Thank you!
We asked and you answered. In June, hundreds of bird lovers from Wisconsin submitted comments to the Public Service Commission (PSC) in response to a proposal by Vista Sands Solar (VSS) to construct a nearly 10,000-acre solar farm immediately adjacent to the Buena Vista State Wildlife Area – home to the largest remaining population of Greater Prairie-chickens in the state.
You asked that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be strengthened to include an analysis of the potential dangers this project poses to this state-threatened bird. Good news! The PSC and the DNR listened.
But now we need your help again! Even if you submitted comments on the Draft EIS, you must submit new comments on the revised, Final EIS to have your voice included in the review process.
WSO has carefully reviewed the Final EIS. Its findings paint a vivid picture of the negative effects the VSS project will have on the Greater Prairie-chickens that call Buena Vista home. The 36 months of construction, followed by the permanent installation of solar arrays, roads, and other structures in close proximity to leks and nesting grounds, will spell disaster for this iconic bird. To save the Greater Prairie-chickens, the VSS project plan must be changed.
WSO, therefore, supports the primary recommendations of the Final EIS, as well as recommendations from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, as they pertain to the protection of the Greater Prairie-chickens at Buena Vista. These are:
- Removing 10 Primary Array Areas (17, 20, 21, 23, 37, 38, 43, 44, 50, 51) and four Alternate Array Areas (20, 32, 41, and 53), all of which are immediately adjacent to the Buena Vista Wildlife Area.
- Establishing a half-mile buffer zone between solar arrays and Buena Vista Wildlife Area, and a one-mile buffer zone between solar arrays and prairie-chicken leks.
- Requiring that all fencing around the project be raised a minimum of 8 inches off the ground to allow for the movement of prairie-chicken hens, chicks, and other ground-nesting birds.
- Requiring that bird diverters be placed on any overhead transmission lines within one mile of Greater Prairie-chicken leks.
The second and final round of public comments is open through Friday, August 16th. We urge all WSO members to submit comments to the PSC asking the commission to adopt the primary recommendations of the Final EIS, and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, as they apply to this state-threatened bird.
Comments crafted BY YOU (as opposed to form letters or petitions) are most effective. Please feel free to include any of the details we’ve outlined above, as well any experiences you’ve had observing this charismatic bird at Buena Vista.
There are two ways to submit comments in writing. All comments should reference PSC Docket # 9820-CE-100.
- Submit comments electronically here. (Preferred method.)
- Mail comments to: Docket 9820-CE-100 Comments, Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854. Madison, WI 53707-7854
Better yet, join WSO staff and Conservation Committee members at one of two public hearings to deliver your comments in person and have them entered into the public record.
The hearings will be held at 2pm and 6pm on Thursday, August 15th at the Best Western Hotel & Convention Center, 5253 Harding Avenue, Plover WI 54467. Remote participation for both meetings is available via Zoom by clicking here. If no adequate internet connection exists, join Zoom by telephone. Dial: +1 312 626 6799 Enter Meeting ID: 809 513 2930
WSO is deeply concerned about the effects of climate change on our planet. We support the adoption of renewable energy. But a solar farm of this size, at this site, will come at the expense of the Greater Prairie-chickens. The PSC must require it be redesigned to protect the Buena Vista State Wildlife Area and the grassland birds that depend upon it.
If driven from their home, the Greater Prairie-chickens will have nowhere else to go. That is why it is vital that you join us in defending them today.
Photo by Grayson Smith, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service
